'Alien' lifeform wakened from 120,000 year Arctic slumber

Meddling boffins refuse to heed sci-fi common sense

By Lewis Page

American scientists, showing the reckless disregard for the warnings implicit in quality science fiction that is so regrettably common in the boffinry community, have revived an ancient lifeform which has been slumbering beneath the Arctic ice pack for 120,000 years. To add insult to injury, the scientists believe that their laboratory revenant may be related to indestructible super-aliens yet to be discovered on extraterrestrial iceworlds.

The creature in question is named Herminiimonas glaciei, and was revived from its aeons-long sleep by Dr Jennifer Loveland-Curtze and her colleagues from Pennsylvania State University. The purplish-brown, blobby entity was "coaxed back to life with great patience", according to Penn State.

"These extremely cold environments are the best analogues of possible extraterrestrial habitats", says Loveland-Curtze.

"The exceptionally low temperatures can preserve cells and nucleic acids for even millions of years... studying these bacteria can provide insights into how cells can survive and even grow under extremely harsh conditions, such as temperatures down to -56˚C, little oxygen, low nutrients, high pressure and limited space."

to read more  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/15/slumbering_arctic_alien/